I’ve been basically mum about this since being admitted to the program, but now that I’m registered for class it feels real enough to make it public on Linkedin and elsewhere.

I’m starting class work toward earning a Master’s of Science in Accountancy (MSA) from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

I am beyond excited - between the affordability, the care and responsiveness the program has shown so far, and the outstanding academic reputation of the program - I hardly know where to begin talking about it. Classes start in 3 weeks, so I expect I’ll be talking about the work there more once I get going.

for more information, see: https://onlinemsa.illinois.edu/

Between getting accepted to that program and before my vacation last week, I also completed the IBM Data Science Professional Certification on Coursera.

Here’s the certificate.

I really enjoyed the classwork and labs there, and left the course wishing I knew the maths better (though I was able to follow along well here) and also wishing that, perhaps, I was set to earn an advanced degree in Data Science instead.

Here are the nine courses I completed, which should give you a clear picture of the skills I acquired.

  • Introduction to Data Science
  • Open Source Tools for Data Science
  • Data Science Methodology
  • Python for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence
  • Databases and SQL for Data Science
  • Data Analysis with Python
  • Data Visualization with Python
  • Machine Learning with Python
  • Capstone project

You can read about the capstone project on this site or at Github. There’s an Advanced certification available through Coursera as well that I intend on taking as soon as feasible. I don’t want to overbook my self during my coursework for the MSA.

There’s a Data Analytics concentration within the Master’s program that I intend on pursuing. These opportunities, to me at least, feel like belonging, finally, in the professional world. I feel, much to my delight, that I’m coming into my own in that part of my life as a result of these fields opening up to me.